Free Whisper In The Dark (The McKinnon Legends-- The American Men Book One) by Ranay James

unjustly. If you will recall, that is an unpleasant feeling having been there yourself. If he did not consult you, perhaps he did not have time to do so.”
    “Still, he should have told me right away. But no! I had to hear it from Brice like he was trying to use it to twist a knife into Robert.”
    Lyles would not doubt for a moment that was Brice’s intention never understanding or caring the depths this perceived betrayal of Robert would gouge into her. Brice was almost as much a bastard as his old man. Lyles had always thought so and today was no different.
    He had loved Brice’s mother as a young man. However, Dallas’ wealth and slick devil’s tongue had enticed her away from him before he could marry her. He had always blamed Dallas for her death feeling she died from loneliness. Dallas left her alone in the mansions as he perused his own interests, leaving her to languish unloved and unfulfilled.
    “Is there anything in there that I can use?” Hope was in her voice, a hope Mr. Lyles did not share.
    Then she answered her own question.
    “I doubt it, given Langston drew it up. For all I know, he killed Kyle for the ranch never dreaming Robert would swoop in, riding to my rescue like some medieval knight.”
    “I’d be very careful where and to whom I sling those kinds of accusations.” That warning was not unheeded.
    “I know, I’m just...I don’t know,” she paused searching for the words looking at her hands clasped tightly in her lap.
    “I know, dear, but there is one small glimmer of hope. Robert is a fair and just man. It would not have been so if Langston still held the note. You would have been on the street before we could have placed Kyle in the ground. Robert might be willing to work something out.”
    He cautioned her about trying to keep the ranch. Unless she had personal funds or a source willing to go out on a limb, she knew she was going to be sorely disappointed. Kyle was bankrupt, and it was just a matter of time before the ranch would have gone on the block anyway, whether in part or whole.
    Katherine took a deep breath. She was a survivor and she would get through this, too. “So, what is your suggestion? What are my options here?” she asked wondering at the way her life had just gone further into the crapper.
     

Chapter 13
    Katherine waited as Mr. Lyles searched through the small pile on his desk. He found what he was looking for and placed the envelope in front of him before passing it to her.
    “I have only this one question, Katie.”
    There was something in his eyes. She could not quite peg it. Was it knowledge, truth, understanding?
    “And that question would be?” she asked looking into the eyes of the only man in the world who knew all the family secrets, and she did mean all of them. He probably knew things of which she did not have a clue. Her father and Mr. Lyles had been more than just attorney-client. They had been friends and fellow Masons of the local chapter. That aside, they both hated Dallas Langston. So the enemy of my enemy is my friend would have done it even if genuine affection had not sealed the life-long friendship.
    “Katherine, what would be so valuable to possess that Kyle was dragged all the way out in the middle of Brandenburg land? Was he killed for ten dollars and a cheap watch which the killers did not even bother to take? No, I don’t think so.” Shaking his gray head slowly only emphasized his words.
    It was then she understood what he was saying to her. She read between the lines.
    “You believe it, too. You believe there is something to the myth of the buried fortune on Brandenburg lands?”
    “I did not say that, although most myths are lined with kernels of truth. What I am saying is information is a powerful thing and the prospect for riches even more so. Whole civilizations have been conquered on the guise of converting the heathen. When....”
    She interrupted him.
    “When in reality it was the gold driving the likes of Cortez and